Improved bottle-stopper



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

E. D. MoYEa'oF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

lM PROVED BOTTLE-STOPPER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, E. D. MOYER, of the city of Philadelphia, in theState of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement inBottleStoppers; and I do hereby declare that the following isafull,clear, and exact description of the construction and operation ofthe same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making apart of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view ofthe improved stopper detached and inverted; Fig. 2, a like view of thesame applied to a bottle, and Fig. 3, a vertical central section of thecap or stopper proper, like letters of reference indicating the sameparts when in the different figures.

The present price and scarcity of cork-bark and theinevitabledestructionof the corks made of it,in using them for stopping beer andmineral-water bottles, renders a demand for a substitute that will becheap and will continue to be applicable as a perfect stopper for suchbottles for an indefinite number of times without repairs, one ofconsiderable inquiry and importance to the public; and the object of myimprovement is to satisfy this demand by affording a stopper for suchand other bottles that will be effective, durable, and cheap.

The nature of my invention consistsiu providing a hollow metallic capwith an elastic water-proof filling and attaching to its outer side aswinging frame of stiff wire, so bent and fitted that when the elasticend of the cap is pressed firmly down thereon by hand the lower end ofthe said swinging'frame can be readily sprung under the lip of thebottle by ones fingers, so that it will clasp itself to the neck of thebottle, rem ain in that position without other fastening, and thus holdthe cap firmly and tightly down on the mouth of the bottle against thepressure of the contained fermenting or expansive nature of beer,mineral-water, or other similarly expansive beverages usually put up inbottles for sale, and also allow the quick removal of the said stopperwhen required without breaking, deranging, or otherwise injuring any ofits parts for subsequent use in like manner. r

In the drawings, A is the cap, and a the elastic filling therein; 13,the swinging springframe, and O the bottle. 1

The cap A, in this instance, is cylindrical in form, and consists ofpewter. low, has one end open, and has also a piece of stiff wire fixeddiametrically through its solid end, so as to project about a quarter ofan inch, more or less, as journals a a at opposite sides of the cap A,as shown in the drawings.

The filling a consists of a solid piece of vulcanized caoutchouc fixedtighly in the hollow part of the cap A, so as to present a smooth evensurface, which will fit accurately upon the upper edge of the mouth ofthe bottle when applied thereto, and also a slightly projecting andtapering central part, which will enter the said mouth, serving as aguide in applying the said cap to the bottle.

The swinging frame B is madein one piece,

of stiff galvanized or tinned wire, by looping its ends I) b, so thatthey will fit over the journals a a? of the cap A, and bending itsintermediate portion substantially in the fornr shown in Figs. 1 and 2,wherein the middle portion,b constitutes a regularcurve, with a shortcounter curve, 11 at each end, from which latter the wire is bentupward, so as to form the arms I) b at nearly right angles to the planeof the said curves.

The largest curve I) has its diameter made a little less than theexternal diameter of that part of the neck of the bottle 0 which isdirectly below the under edge of its lip 0, while its length is a littleless than two-thirds (moreor less) of the circumference of this part ofthe neck of the bottle; and the length of each of the arms b is suchthat when their loops 1) b are applied,respectively,over the journals aa of the cap, and the whole device thus completed for use, they willjust allow the curve 6 of the frame B to be pressed or sprung arounddirectly beneath the lip c of the bottle, when the eap'A is pressedfirmly down in juxtaposition over the mouth of the former. This positionis clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Operation: It will be readily understood that when the whole device isconstructed and applied as described and shown the elastic filling 0b ofthe cap A will be compressed and held firmly and closely down over themouth It is cast holof the bottle, while the curved portion of theswinging frame 13 will spring-clasp its neck, so as to keep the saidcurved clasp in that position until pushed away from it by ones fingersor other applied power, which operation releases the stopper. It willalso be seen that this stopper answers the demand previously alluded to,because it forms a perfect substitute for the bark corks in itseffectiveness as a stopper for bottles which can be used repeatedly forthe purpose; and, moreover, that is cheap and simple of construction'and not liable to get easily out of order by such repeated use.

Having thus fully described my improvement, what I claim as new therein,of myinveir tion, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The bottle-stopper described and shown, the

